Barlow football team set for state playoff debut Tuesday night

Published 12:26 am, Tuesday, December 3, 2013

REDDING -- The Joel Barlow High School football program has come a long, long way in the 22 years since head coach Rob Tynan took the helm.

When Tynan took over, he recalled, there were only about 18 players on the team and the Board of Education was toying with the idea of cutting the program.

They obviously didn't, and Tuesday night Tynan will lead his Falcons into their first-ever state playoff game. Third-seeded Barlow (9-2) will host the sixth-seeded Gilbert/Northwestern Regional co-op (9-2) in a Class M first-round game at 6:30 p.m. at Western Connecticut State University's Westside Athletic Complex. (The field at Barlow is in the midst of a renovation, and the Falcons have been playing their home games at Western since late October).

The Falcons came awfully close to making the state playoffs last year when they went 8-2, but they finished ninth in the Class M playoff rankings and were left out in the cold (the top eight qualify). A Thanksgiving loss to Weston proved devastating.

This year, Barlow had already clinched a spot by Thanksgiving and defeated Weston 46-14 on Thursday to lock up a home game in the playoffs.

And on the eve of his program's state tournament debut, Tynan was understandably excited and optimistic. Because in all his previous seasons at Barlow, he was collecting equipment in the first week of December, not preparing for another game.

"We're excited for the program. It's been a long haul," he said. "I've spent almost half my life trying to get to this point."

And by making it to this point, this Barlow team has an opportunity no other Barlow team ever had before.

"You never know when it's going to happen again," Tynan said. "And we've been telling the kids that that's sort of how life is, too. You find yourself in certain moments and you never know if you're going to be in that situation again. Make the most of it now."

Within hours of beating Weston, Tynan had already swapped game footage with Gilbert/Northwestern coach Scott Salius and -- after gobbling up a quick turkey dinner with the family Thursday night -- went right to work breaking down the Pequot League power, which went 30-12 combined in the previous four seasons and reached the Class M semifinals in 2010.

"We remind the kids all the time, they're coaching up in Winsted right now, too," Tynan said. "This is a big moment for them, too, to get into the state playoffs. We know that there is another football team that wants the same thing we want -- and don't ever forget it. They're going to be fighting and clawing and doing whatever they need to do to get to the semifinals, too."

The Falcons' game plan is no big secret -- they run the triple-option, they seldom pass, and they have a handful of explosive weapons coming out of the backfield. Opposing defenses have been forced to pick their poison, and as is reflected in the Falcons' 9-2 record, only a couple of teams have been able to contain them this season.

And at this point in the season, he's certainly not planning any major overhaul of an offensive scheme which has been so effective.

"You tweak a few things here and there, but if you don't know it by now, I don't know if you're going to grasp it this year," he said, with a chuckle. "As we tell the kids, line up right and play football. It really is that simple. Do what you've been coached to do, and even if it's wrong, you might end up in the right place."

Leading the way is senior quarterback Jack Shaban, who has been calling the signals for three seasons and is well-versed in the intricacies of the triple-option. He has rushed for 1,841 yards and 32 touchdowns this season.

"Jack has been doing it for three years, running the offense, and there isn't too much he hasn't seen," Tynan said. "We give Jack the leeway where, if we call something and they change defenses, we let him change it. He's been doing it long enough that we have our faith and trust in him that he's going to get us in the right play."

However, Shaban is far more than just a good running quarterback for this team. Although he has only 31 pass attempts this season, five have gone for scores. He returns kickoff and punts, and has accumulated 2,044 all-purpose yards. He is also leader on defense, and has three interceptions and 49 tackles from his safety position.

"Jack's a football player," Tynan said. "It sounds as simple as it is. Jack is a kid who belongs on a football field. If we told Jack to go play center, he would get down there and snap the ball."

In order for the triple-option to work, however, there needs to be more than one option. And Barlow has several, such as junior Harry Wilson (1,062 all-purpose yards, 11 touchdowns), senior Steve Miller (563 all-purpose yards, 4 touchdowns), junior Bryan Gallaer (447 all-purpose yards, five touchdowns) and sophomore Zach Raposo (234 rushing yards, three touchdowns), to name a few. The Falcons scored 458 points this season.

"If we're getting five yards at a clip just giving it to the fullback, we'll do it all day long," Tynan said. "We'll rotate three fullbacks in and keep doing it."

On defense, Barlow will be looking to stop a Gilbert/Northwestern offense which scored 321 points this season. Senior quarterback John Lippincott has amassed 1,330 yards and 13 touchdowns through the air and run for 629 yards and seven scores. Senior running back Anthony Ortiz has rushed for 1,673 yards and 17 touchdowns and caught 14 passes for 338 yards and five scores.

"They've got some athletes, and there is a reason why they are where they are, too," Tynan said. "We hope we play our `A' game. If we play our `A' game, we'll be OK. It's not the best team, it's the team that plays the best on that given night."

Barlow is one of four South-West Conference teams in the state playoffs. Newtown earned the top seed in Class LL and No. 5 Brookfield will visit No. 4 Bethel in another Class M quarterfinal Tuesday night.

"We play in a tough league and we've played some tough opponents," Tynan said. "This is a good football league. I don't know if we get all the credit we should for the quality of football that we play in this league."